Well, we are reaching the end of the season. The Nationals stand two games away from their stated, and admittedly pathetic, goal of 72 wins — one better than last year. They have 5 games remaining, two against the Mets and three against the Phillies, all on the road. Given that the Nats are 30-46 on the road this year, these last two wins should be tough. That said, the Mets seem desperate to see…

Bonjour! This Nats update is coming to you straight from Paris — that is the level of our devotion to this team. How has the team repaid us? Well, they’ve gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, own a better record than 6 teams in baseball, and have all but guaranteed that they will not finish last in the NL East. They are currently 6 wins away from tying last year’s record, a feat that…

For a struggling offensive team like the Nationals, there’s no greater place to play a few games than the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. And lately for the Nats, there’s no greater foil than whiny Wayne Krivsky’s Reds. For those reasons, I had quite the time watching the Nats pound the stuffing out of the Reds in last night’s 12-7 win. The club’s long-slumbering lumber has finally awoken–aided by Cincy’s teensy bandbox of a field….

The talk about the Nationals being the worst team in major league history seems to have been slightly exaggerated. That being said, they’ve been pretty awful in losing 5 in a row, including being swept by the Cubs this weekend. The Nats are 9-22, 10.5 games out of first place in the National League East and 5.5 behind the fourth place Phillies. And they face the surprising Brewers, who have the best record in baseball,…

Last Friday, the television behind the bar at Bar Pilar was switched from a tie ball game between the Nationals, who were then a half game off the wild card, and their division rivals the New York Mets to a preseason Redskins game. On Saturday night (or perhaps Friday, as well; we can’t be sure how quickly these things turn around) a measure of karmic retribution was exacted, as the Nats erased an eight…

The New York Times Magazine featured, this past Sunday, the work of former Expos and current Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, whose work in Flushing has concentrated on attracting Latinos, both to the stands and the playing fields of Shea. Mentioned in the piece is the stellar work Minaya did with Les Expos, bringing in Latino talents such as current Nationals All-Star pitcher Livan Hernandez and second baseman Jose Vidro, in keeping the troubled…

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. It’s been a tough week for the Nationals, traveling to Cincinnati to face general manager Jim Bowden’s former team. On Monday they lost by a not-deplorable score of 5-3. A day later, they improved substantially, taking the Reds to 14 innings before letting that one slip away 4-3. But if yesterday seemed destined to be the Nats’ 23-inning 3-2 squeaker victory, well, it wasn’t so. Cincinnati swept the series with a persuasive…

The Ides of March are upon us, and we have a possible bioterror attack on our hands. More on that in just a second. First, we turn to the corner of North Capitol and F streets. Last week, we told you about how St. Patrick’s Day port-a-johns outside the Dubliner signaled the first sign of spring. Well, the drinking tent went up this past weekend, as you can see from this DCist photo we…

An Undeclared Williams Plays Offensive: Mayor Anthony Williams, who has yet to say whether he will seek a third term, has called out a few people who are eyeing his position. According to the Post, Ward 4’s eager councilmember, Adrian Fenty, was at the top of the mayor’s list saying there should be “some threshold qualifications that you bring to the table.” Also on Williams hit list: troubled lobbyist Michael Brown who the mayor says…

Good morning. Today will be cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers, and temperatures in the 40s. The photo was taken yesterday at the Georgetown Flea Market, which also has a location near the Courthouse metrorail station in Arlington. Metrobus Riders to Also Ride Free: WMATA’s board has announced bus riders will also ride free during the Dec. 16 promotion by financial company ING Direct. On that day all bus and rail riders…